JAXA Successfully Lands Space Probe on Asteroid

This week, as we released our most recent book ROBOT PLANET- a story about a robotic rover on Mars, another rover-laden space probe made headlines elsewhere. Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced that it has successfully landed its Hayabusa 2 probe on the asteroid known as Ryugu The potato-shaped asteroid is said to be three hundred kilometers away from earth. The Hayabusa 2 is expected to fire an impactor blast into the surface to collect samples before lifting off and returning to Earth in 2020. The probe is said to be equipped with two tiny MINERVA-II rover robots as well as the 10-kilogram French-German observation robot  MASCOT that will scan the surface temperatures and measure the magnetic fields. While the mission itself has had issues aligning with Earth, it is now streaming data and by many accounts, a success. 

We at American Mishima wish to congratulate the Hayabusa 2 Mission team on their recent achievement. おめでとう ございます!

Meteors for the Masses?

Seen here in this Kyodo photo is an Epsilon 4 rocket blasting off into space from the Uchinoura Space Center in Kimotsuki, Kagoshima Prefecture. According to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the rocket carried seven small satellites from the Tokyo startup ALE Co LTD. These micro-satellites carry up to four hundred tiny balls set to be released at 500km above the Earth to create an artificial meteor shower. ALE Co LTD plans to demonstrate this over Hiroshima sometime in the Spring of 2020. If successful, you'll have meteor showers on demand. No word on how much this will cost or how commercially viable this venture could be. ALE claims these artificial meteor showers (provided the weather cooperates) will be visible by millions. Naturally, we could think of better ways to use this technology, but we shall see how this works out, or not.

Successful Launch: Japan's H2-B Rocket Lifts Into Space

This week, Japan's Space Agency (JAXA) announced the launch of an unmanned Kounotori7 cargo vessel atop an H2-B rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center. This re-supply mission will achieve orbit and dock with the International Space Station bringing supplies, food, and scientific equipment. The cargo ship built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries includes a small return capsule which will bring back experiments. We at American Mishima salute JAXA's contribution to the continued exploration of space and the discoveries Japan will make.